1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to light therapy for the treatment of skin, scalp and hair and, more particularly, to a phototherapy apparatus that includes a head canopy band having light generating sources and audio headphones along with a hand held control unit, and wherein the device is capable of providing hands-free therapeutic aid to a user's skin, scalp and/or hair by way of evenly distributed light of various beneficial wavelength that is directed onto entire treatment areas of a user's skin or scalp.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
People are frequently confronted with hair loss as well as a variety of different scalp and skin-related conditions, such as acne, sun spots, and wrinkling of the skin, psoriasis and non-melanoma skin cancer. In response, an assortment of treatment products, each typically targeting one specific hair, scalp or skin-related condition, have been developed over the past 75 years and made available to the public. Many of these products are in the form of a topical solution that requires an arduous application process. Where the condition is hair loss, a surgical process has been made available, wherein hair plugs are surgically transplanted in place of the missing hair. However, this surgical process for treating hair loss is extremely expensive and consequently, is not available to an average consumer.
More recently, the use of phototherapy to treat hair loss, as well as various skin and scalp disorders, has become increasingly popular. Phototherapy consists of exposure to specific wavelengths of light using lasers, light emitting diodes (LED's) (both individual and arrays), IPL's (Intense Pulsed Light) and other light sources, for a prescribed amount of time to both treat disease and affect cosmetic enhancements to the hair, scalp and skin. The use of phototherapy in medical science and aesthetics is rapidly evolving as more and more wavelengths of light are being identified to target various sections of cells in order to stimulate cellular proficiency and enhance the body's ability to heal and rejuvenate itself. Phototherapy is currently used to treat acne, wrinkles, sun and age spots, rosacia, eczema, hair loss and wound healing through wavelengths indicated by various colors (i.e., wavelengths) of the light spectrum. By utilizing various wavelengths, colors relatively close on the spectrum can cause different effects when applied to various parts on the body.
For example, red light at a wavelength of 670 nanometers has been clinically shown to prevent hair loss and re-grow new hair, as well as to cause increased melanin production and protein synthesis. Red and infrared lights have also been used to increase the production of collagen and to reduce redness, dilated capillaries and damage to the skin, as well as reduction of wrinkles and fine lines. Blue light has been clinically shown to reduce acne and, when combined with red light, eliminates acne and reduces the scarring often associated with acne treatment. Yellow and Amber lights have been clinically shown to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, rosacia, and can help to repair sun damaged skin. Green light has been shown to reduce and eliminate sun and age spots, lighten freckles and also help promote more luminous skin condition and overall radiance of the skin. As set forth above, many of these light sources have multiple benefits, cross over each other in treating certain ailments and work to promote a variety of benefits to the hair and skin. These light sources are often used in combinations to provide increase efficacy and various degrees of stimulation.
Science throughout the years has determined the effects of various wavelengths of light, but absorption is the key to cellular change. Light therapy emits photons which are absorbed by the skins photoreceptors. Hair and skin cells respond well to phototherapy involving low level light due to the fact that cells reside just underneath the skin surface, making these low levels of energy able to reach the receptor sites and induce photochemistry.
There are a number of phototherapy devices currently available for home use to treat both skin and hair. The majority of these are hand held devices, varying in both size and number of light sources (i.e., laser diodes, LED's, or infrared diodes). These devices are manually moved around the hair or face by the user and require a constant movement in order to expose the entire surface area to the light sources. This results in an uneven treatment protocol, as the average user is unlikely to be able to cover the entire surface area through manual movements and will leave certain areas untreated. Further, due to the need for a manageable size (must fit in the hand), these devices are often underpowered.
Several phototherapy devices have been developed that are adapted to be portably worn by a user in a hands-free mode of operation. For example, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0012586 A1 to Kepecs discloses a system that houses LEDs within a head unit that resembles a baseball helmet. The Kepecs device is used for reducing hair loss, as well as the therapeutic healing of a variety of skin disorders. One particular shortcoming of the Kepecs device is the onerous task of snapping or screwing in different LEDs to alter the desired wavelength.
U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2006/0030908 to Powell et al. discloses a skin treatment phototherapy device that may comprise a clamshell structure, pen shape, facial mask, or desk lamp design, and which includes multi-colored LEDs. The Powell device attempts to treat a variety of skin conditions on the face and other skin regions below the user's head. Depending on the skin condition to be treated, the corresponding wavelengths, intensity levels, and time interval for the skin treatment can be varied by a control system. However, this device is neither designed nor intended to treat hair loss. Moreover, this device lacks a suitable structure and design for directing an evenly distributed light pattern upon a user's entire scalp area.
A further example of a phototherapy device that is adapted to be worn on a user's head is disclosed in PCT International Patent Application No. JP2002/009778 to Shimizu. Shimizu discloses a phototherapy device for home use that has a head band fitted with multiple LED's. The head band is structured to span over the top of a user's head, covering only a portion of the scalp. This device also provides headphones attached to the head band. The head band of the Shimizu device is moveable between two or more positions relative to the user's scalp. In order to attain total scalp coverage that is needed for effective phototherapy treatment of hair loss, the head band of the Shimizu device must be moved to the several positions. This is due to the limited size and shape of the Shimizu head band, as well as variations in the shape of the human scalp. Accordingly, the Shimizu phototherapy device requires a minimum of two movements of the head band to cover the entire scalp, with a treatment performed at each position, thereby extending the overall time of an effective phototherapy treatment session that is needed for full scalp coverage.
Presently, there are clinical or salon based laser phototherapy devices (commercial devices) that are stationary and require a user to sit beneath them at a fixed location while undergoing treatment. These stationary commercial phototherapy systems are similar in nature to stationary hair dryers that are used at women's hair salons. More specifically, clinical or salon based laser therapy devices for hair growth include a hood that is positioned over a chair. These clinical or salon based stationary phototherapy systems are the only phototherapy systems known to provide simultaneous total scalp coverage without having to move or adjust the position of the head unit (i.e., hood) relative to the user's scalp. Laser hair therapy sessions for full scalp coverage treatments, using these clinical or salon based phototherapy laser systems, are typically about 20 minutes long. Thus, the Shimizu portable home phototherapy device, requiring a minimum of two movements of the headband, would extend the session to between 40 and 60 minutes for full scalp coverage. This extended phototherapy session time frame is beyond the norm for home use light-based therapies which should require no more than 15-25 minutes.
The present invention provides the home use equivalent of the clinical stationary laser phototherapy systems in a convenient and easy to use device that provides for simultaneous full scalp coverage. Moreover, the present invention provides the added benefit of ensuring a generally consistent distance from each of the light emitting sources to the scalp. This improves on the clinical or stationary laser phototherapy systems in which the distance between each of the light emitting sources and the scalp may vary from one person to the next due to the fact that they must adjust the hood or panel dependant on the height of the person being treated and/or the chair height. In clinical laser therapy systems, the distance between the lasers and the scalp may range between 2-5 inches. This is a significant limitation that the present invention overcomes. In particular, the intensity of the light source in low level laser therapies decreases significantly as the distance between the light emitting sources and the scalp increases. Further, because the human scalp is curved, use of a narrower headband, such as the one found on the Shimizu phototherapy device, will result in a variation of the distance between the light emitting sources and the scalp dependent upon the position of the headband relative to the scalp. For example, a curve of the head band necessary to contour to the rear or crown of the scalp would cause the head band to be at a greater distance from the treatment area when the head band is moved to the front of the scalp. This is due to the fact that the degree of curvature required for the crown of the scalp is not necessary for the front or temporal region of the scalp. Accordingly, while the fixed curvature of the head band may be ideally spaced relative to the scalp when positioned over the rear or crown of the scalp, when moved to the front or temporal region, the distance between the head band and the scalp would increase, thereby reducing the intensity of the light emitting sources and significantly decreasing the efficacy of the phototherapy treatment for the temporal region of the scalp.
The present invention seeks to address the limitations and shortcomings of the above described phototherapy treatment devices, by providing a canopy band having an array of light emitting sources optimally positioned relative to a human's scalp when the headband is properly worn on the user's head, and wherein the canopy band is specifically structured, shaped and disposed to provide simultaneous full scalp coverage. Moreover, the light emitting sources on the canopy band are positioned and arranged to provide complete and simultaneous light treatment coverage to the frontal, temporal and vertex (crown) regions of the scalp. Additionally, the present invention provides for spacing columns that extend downward from the inner side of the canopy band for comfortably and adjustably engaging the user's scalp, thereby maintaining the light emitting sources at a prescribed optimal distance from the user' scalp to ensure that the phototherapy treatment is consistent and of maximum efficacy.
A further embodiment of the invention provides for application of light from the array of light emitting sources to the face of the user. The phototherapy device is designed to maximize the efficiency of a variety of skin and scalp treatments, either singly or in combination, through use of either fixed or removable canopy bands or plates that are fitted with an array of light emitting sources.